


Those Damn Birds

by MariaMagica



Category: Original Work
Genre: Birds, Fairy Tale Elements, Fantasy, LGBTQ Characters, Magic, Multi, Mystery, Romance, Supernatural Elements, another universe, dual protagonists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-07-05 10:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15861774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariaMagica/pseuds/MariaMagica
Summary: With no memory of who he is, Caj finds himself in a strange home, with strange people claiming they're his family. While they are willing to give him everything, they refuse to let him leave the house. And the only other person Caj remembers, Finn, is nowhere to be found.Meanwhile, Adi, a former bully, returns to her hometown with the intent to make up for her past actions. However no one remembers her even existing, despite being with them for years. Upon hearing Finn has gone missing, she makes it her mission to find him.Amongst it all are birds who are watching them very closely.





	1. Prologue / de Meij Home

**Author's Note:**

> I've finally set out to write my very own original fiction! It's partly self-indulgent with a lot of LGBTQ+ characters, a big mystery and magical entities who enjoy making human life difficult.
> 
> The story kicks off with Caj in the prologue and continues with Adi in chapter 1, the chapters alternating between the two. I hope you enjoy! I am open for criticism on any area, because I would like to improve. Thank you <3
> 
> Art of Caj by the wonderful [dragonpigeons!](http://dragonpigeons.tumblr.com)

He could only gape at the people who called themselves his parents. Here, in a cozy living room, with the soft afternoon sun peeking through the curtains, a hearty man and rose-cheeked woman gave him their full attention with nothing but smiles on their faces.

“Darling, you missed breakfast! But not to worry, we didn’t finish it. Want some?” His mother didn’t wait for an answer, getting up and wandering into the open kitchen to fuss with the oven.

Caj twisted the edge of his sweater so hard, it was a miracle it hadn’t torn yet. “How did… How did I get here?”

“You walked down the stairs? Oh wait, is this one of those younger generation jokes? I can never keep up,” his ‘father’ laughed. There was a cup of warm coffee in his left hand and a newspaper in his right. His chair was brown velvet. The side table was impeccable, not a stain to be found.

It was  _exactly_  as he had imagined a scene like this would look like, he suddenly realized. A family, all smiles, a room, rich of life, and him.

“You’re not my parents,” he blurted out.

The parents gave each other confused glances. “Darling, I think I know my own son.” ‘Mom’ rolled her eyes and continued to bounce around the kitchen. Some blonde hairs fell out of her bun from all the moving around, framing her pale skin. In the corner of the room, the glass doors of the tall mahogany cupboard reflected Caj - his dark messy curls, his face all sharp lines, his lanky figure and hips he wished weren’t so curvy. He couldn’t be more in contrast with his ‘parents’.

There was a photo on the wall close to him. The two older adults in the room were on it, together with a boy his age, with light-brown hair and a toothy grin. Caj grabbed it, nearly tearing the wallpaper.

Caj marched into the kitchen and thrust the photo frame into his ‘mother’s’ face, effectively halting her preparation of food. “What about Finn?!”

“Who is Finn? Who are you talking about?” Those words were icy fingers, constricting his heart. “What are you doing with our photo?”

“Your  _actual_ son!!” He jabbed a finger on the image where Finn was supposed to be. When he turned the frame towards him, the other boy was gone and, in his place, a younger, smiling version of him.

He couldn’t breathe.

“Caj, you’re starting to worry us,” his father responded, now getting up. His mother held her hands against her bosom in concern.

Startled back into focus, he slammed his hands on the kitchen counter. “You should be worried!! Do you even know who I am?! What I’m afraid of, what I want to be? Do you even know in which country I’m… born…in…”

 _He_  didn’t know. He couldn’t remember where he used to live. He couldn’t remember the faces of his real parents. He couldn’t even remember who he was or what he did before he woke up in this room.

But he did remember words echoing in his mind, from a familiar voice he couldn’t connect to anyone.

_Tomorrow! Tomorrow is the day. Tomorrow I will finally get what I wanted for so long!_

A dizzy spell hit him, and he held on to the kitchen counter.

“Honey, I think Caj is tired.”

“Agreed. You’re clearly still tired. Off to bed you go!” His mother already pushed him out of the kitchen towards the spiral stairs and Caj realized he didn’t have the will to argue. Without glancing back, he trudged up the narrow stairs, feeling lost.

He scanned his room - not his room, it shouldn’t be his - the moment he opened the wooden door. It was relatively small, with a lacquered wooden bed in one corner and a desk in the other, comic books neatly stacked next to college books in the open drawers and pens bundled up in mugs. Artistic posters haphazardly decorated the walls, with names and artists on them he had never seen before. The light through the violet curtains gave everything a surreal hue.

His nails dug into the skin of his palms as he stood in the center of the round carpet. This wasn’t his room. It was someone else’s, Finn’s, it was Finn’s, he must have taken his place.

_But how? And why?!_

And who… was Finn? Ten seconds ago he thought he knew, yet somehow he couldn’t conjure up the thought anymore. What little he remembered dissipated from his mind. Caj started to panic.

_I need to write all I know now down… before I forget that as well._

He spotted a leather-bound book on the desk. The leather was pale, smooth and warm to the touch, with no brand or name to be found anywhere. When Caj opened the cover, he could feel how sturdy the paper was. On the first page written in bold ink letters, he found a warning.

_Don't wish for anything._

A empty diary… or a journal. With a warning that told him nothing. He flipped the page around but found no other writing.  _Whose handwriting is this?_ He turned the rest of the tarnished light-yellow pages, only to find them completely empty. The first page was all he had. Maybe it was Finn’s handwriting. Maybe he forgot. He inspected the whole journal once more, held the pages up into the light.  _Nothing._

Caj grabbed a ballpoint pen and started writing down his own name. But before he could move on with the next word, the black ink faded, absorbed by the paper itself. Not a single line stuck, even when he started writing down nonsense. He slammed the pen down and watched the thick angry line vanish.

Downtrodden, he backed away from the desk. The bed was his only comfort as he let himself drop on it, causing a black smartphone to bounce up from the mattress and land next to him. Quickly Caj picked it up and swiped to unlock it. Everything was on standard factory settings, with the name of the city he was in and a little icon to display the current weather.

_Falle._

It sounded so familiar. Maybe Finn told him of it. A relatively small city close to the sea and chock full of all kinds of birds, he recalled reading once.  _Birds…_  Caj looked at the journal again. Something about birds and Finn rang a bell far in the distance of his mind.

He ran his hand through his hair, trying to feel for bumps. No, he was sure he hadn’t just lost his memory by banging his head against something. Maybe he had been kidnapped, though that didn’t explain his odd forgetfulness. So many things didn’t add up.

Maybe the internet could help him.

The browser page loaded endlessly before informing him he had no wifi.

_Damn it!_

“I need to get out of this house,” Caj said out loud, hauling himself out of the bed, “Before I go mad.”

A green pilot jacket hung from the coat hook next to the door. He rattled off a to-do list in his head while tugging it on. He would go to the police and tell them everything. The army. The press if he had to. He would ask the first person he saw on the street where the police station was. They had to help him, someone must have some way of finding out what the hell happened to him.

Barely a step into the hallway before he nearly ran into ‘mom’, who held a plate of white bread and cheese sandwiches. “I thought you might be hungry! I know young men prefer to be alone, but do your father and I a favor and join us for dinner later?”

“Thanks erm… Thanks. But no thanks. I’m heading out.” He sidestepped her but she sidestepped as well.

“Out? Darling, you can’t go out.”

“Look, I promise I will eat with you guys later. I have something important to do. For school,” he added quickly, remembering the college books.

She looked him straight in the eyes. “You cannot go out. You can never go out. Never. Right, honey?” she called down the stairs.

“Correct!” came the voice of his ‘dad’, chiming in without hesitation.

With a big smile, she put on her standard joyous face. “See? Now, pasta or potatoes for dinner? I’ll let you choose, because you’re my special boy!”

Caj gulped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: we meet Adi!


	2. 01. Veerle Holle College

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adi's back in town and she has a totally different problem.

Adi was so bored, she knew she would rather chuck herself out of the window than stick around if this obligatory tour lasted any longer. It wouldn’t do much because she was on the ground floor, but still.

There was something very, very familiar about her guide though. Adi knew she had to have seen him before, because his large doe eyes framed by short dreadlocks poked at her brain. He spoke to them, never yelling, even with din of students all around them. It was easy to tell which members of the group were straining their ears to listen, which was a good zero percent of them. With a wave of his hand, their attention was pulled to the large bulletin board tacked full with posters, the most central one describing the school rules. Posters bordered the rules advertising upcoming parties and DJs, study groups and art courses, and the tiny one in the corner encouraging people to ‘ _speak English only; cherish our internationality!_ ’ with an angry smiley that someone doodled right below.

The entranceway did not reflect the image the posters did; scuffed marble floors with faux antique wooden benches right next to a glass revolving door. In one corner, three leather armchairs circled around a small brown table, in the other, a desk stuffed full of monitors behind safety glass. Hung on the smooth stone walls paintings of Very Important People She Didn’t Know looked down at them. Preserving old traditions, the school put it - or as Marie-Anne once blurted out in front of a teacher: “This building should have been flattened years ago.” In truth, Adi didn’t find it that ugly. It was just all so dark and _brown_ , brown upon brown.

The security guard behind the desk stared straight back when she did - nothing had changed, she thought content.

The guide locked eyes with her briefly. In her mind she imagined him with a shaven head and instantly knew his name.

“Ethan?” she asked, not hearing herself. Neither had he, for her guide turned away, walking ahead for everyone to follow. No problem, the tour had to end at some point. _Hopefully._

Soon they stopped right next to the hallway that led to the cafeteria. “That concludes the tour. If anyone has any questions…” he trailed off into nervous silence, watching the first years lose any shred of interest they had, the young adults grabbing their smartphones and forming clusters that marched off in unison to the rotating doors that stood between them and freedom. An opportunity opened up. Adi considered the time, and decided to go for it.

Adi wedged herself between the students, bummed that they were so larger than her, moving forward so she could place herself right in front of the man in his blue sweater vest that lacked his trademark bowtie. She rattled off a whole sentence in her head to greet her former classmate. Once there, her carefully deliberated plan of action fell to pieces.

“…Hi Ethan!” She waved.

A confused blink. “Hey, erm…”

“Adi.”

“Adi, right. Can I… help you?”

He looked uncomfortable. It had been quite some time, so it made sense that he didn’t remember her that well. Adi still felt disappointed. “We used to be in the same class before I moved away two years ago. Biological Science.” His stunned stare didn’t let up. “I was the small girl of Marie-Anne’s group. I knocked over the school’s terrarium?” She continued, even though the description embarrassed her. “We spent hours chasing beetles.”

Ethan lit up. “Oh, I remember something with beetles. Wait, so you left and actually returned to the Hellhole? You’re the first person I’ve ever seen do that.”

“Heh, you know what they say, once you enter Holle’s Hell you don’t leave,” she joked, followed by nervous chuckles when Ethan didn’t go along. “You grew out your hair.”

“Thanks.”

“Heh.” She felt the end of her own bobcut, wishing he remembered how long her hair had been. It was tempting to make another joke about it, but that wasn’t why she was here. She kicked the ground once before making up her mind. “Do you… have a bit of time now? I would like to talk more about… certain stuff, if that’s alright with you.”

Ethan’s surprised expression made her feel more anxious. “…Yeah. Sure.”

~~~

Navigating the cafeteria was easy, finding a free table proved to be significantly harder as students of each year treated the large space as a lounge, a study hall and a dining room at the same time. The stench of old French fries still lingered, Adi noted, and there was the ever-present the loud chattering. The noise bothered her so much she wanted to pull her hoodie over her head. Luckily, they found a table further away, closer to the library, surrounded by students who were very busy on their laptops.

“I want to apologize,” Adi stammered as they took their seats around the table facing the canteen.

He seemed genuinely surprised. “Apologize? For?”

She took a deep breath. _Come on Adi._ “For being mean… cruel to you. Marie-Anne, Leela and I called you a lot of things. We picked on you and it wasn’t right. We were bullies. I-I understand if you’re angry. I just want you to know that I’m sorry.”

Damn, that was so much harder than she expected. She really wanted to throw out a more sophisticated apology but hearing herself talk made her heart race. The bandage had been ripped off only to find the scab removed as well, and the wound still bleeding. Adi squeezed her hands multiple times under the table as she waited for a response.

All she got was another confused stare. “Eh… picked on me?”

Adi frowned. “Well, you know. Because you… were silly.”

“Silly?”

“The nerd with the bowtie.” How Ethan had gotten upset, stomping away every time they called him a dweeb, a dork, the three of them versus one. She had laughed because it was easy, he was an easy target that responded to the most simplest of name calling. Any guilt she felt, she pushed down because the power trip was too good. “No other reason than that.”

Ethan leaned back on his chair, crossing his arms. “Yeah, just… Thing is, I don’t remember.”

“ _What_?” Adi exclaimed. Some nearby students turned to glare at them for the noise.

“I mean, sure, I’m used to Marie-Anne and Leela being kinda bi- shitty towards everyone, but I don’t remember you calling me names. Hell, I hardly remember _you_. And eh… it’s an honor you see me as a nerd, honestly.”

Adi opened her mouth and didn’t know what to say. She expected anger. Outrage. Perhaps that he was disappointed in her. She would have accepted that.

But this, this left her feeling hollow. “I-I see.” _Shit._ Why did she feel so sad?

“Wait, wait.” Ethan moved forward across the table, holding up his hands in an attempt to curb her panic. “Please don’t be upset. You know my name and the bowtie thing, so I don’t think you’re lying. Let’s chalk it up to my memory being really crappy, and that I forgive you for it all. Which is easy, because for me there’s nothing to forgive. Is that okay?”

Adi let out a big sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. In a way, this was ideal. Instant forgiveness. It’s just not what she had been going for. “Okay, okay. Thanks Ethan.”

“Ethan!!” Another voice boomed and a pale guy leapt upon poor Ethan, putting the poor guy into an armlock. “Are you making the first-years cry?”

“No-you-asshole-let-go!” Ethan grunted. He managed to free himself, rubbing his neck while trying to kill his friend with eyes alone.

The newcomer laughed and pushed his glasses back up his nose. Unlike Ethan’s tall, lanky figure, he was more filled under his zipper jacket. Adi’s attention got pulled towards his pants, of which one side was rolled up to show off a prosthetic lower leg, decorated with gaudiest orange-red trucker flames in the world.

“Hi Robert,” she grinned. “Or should I say Bob?”

Robert expressed mock horror, a hand on his chest. “You told her the forbidden name?! Ethan, you traitor!”

Adi tried her best not to laugh. Ethan’s friend had not changed in the slightest.

Ethan rubbed his neck while pouting angrily. “Why the hell would I do that? This is Adi. She used to be in our class, so she probably got it from everyone else.”

“Adi!” He seated himself on the table and reached out his hand in greeting. When she grabbed it, he shook it vigorously. “I’m Robert Fan. Not a wind fan, or someone’s biggest fan, but Fa-ahn,” he said, putting emphasis on pronunciation. Ethan facepalmed behind him.

 “ _I know. Y_ ou told me the exact same thing the first time we met.” Adi said, rolling her eyes. “You’re supreme nerd Fan. You gave yourself that title.” Robert clapped to confirm. “You own _all_ the consoles and you buy a 2000 euro computer every two or three years.” She patted herself on the back for remembering trivial crap. Perhaps her true talent lay in television quiz shows.

“2500 now, freaking inflation.” Robert frowned. “But wait a flipping minute! You know me, but I don’t know you! How this?”

The second confession stung as hard. It seemed both the nerds had forgotten her completely. “Like Ethan said, I was in your class for two years. I wasn’t really doing so well with grades, and my dad got a better job offer in Rotterdam, so I ended it here and we moved there. I was - am friends with Marie-Anne and Leela.” She could never forget Robert. He had been a wall that all her insults bounced off from. Back then it frustrated her endlessly, now she wanted to commend him. But how could she compliment someone who doesn’t know what she had done?

“Why did you move back?” Ethan asked, but before Adi could answer him, Robert cut in.

“Wait, you were friends with the mean girls? You, a meanie? I don’t believe it. You’re like a mushroom! A button mushroom!” He gestured to her hair, forming an oval with his forefingers.

“I’m not a mushroom!” Adi squawked undignified, but Robert only cackled. “Robe- Bob!” She attempted, but it was too late. Robert started repeating the word mushroom in a singsong tone.

“Do what I do and just ignore him,” Ethan said, holding up his hand to block his view of Robert. “You’ll keep some of your sanity.”

“So mean! Ethan is meaner than the meanest teacher!” Robert interrupted his one-man show to check the large clock hanging above the entranceway. “Oh shit, I only have four minutes till class. Bye Ethan! Bye mushroom girl!”

Off he went, leaving as he arrived, a fox fleeing the hen house on caffeine. Adi noted how smoothly Robert ran on his prosthetic leg and couldn’t stop her smile. What a difference from the last time she saw him. “Does he still take off his leg and pretend he’s fallen through the sewer grate?”

Ethan shook his head. “He’s switched to trying to traumatize everyone in the wood workshop. I think he’s banned already.”

“First day of the first week. A record?”

“Nah. It took him two hours. He’s losing his touch.” He cast a quick glance on his watch despite the huge clock and got up. “I should go too. My break will be over soon and I’ve got a whole day of tours.”

Adi nodded. There were so many more questions she wanted to ask; how they were doing, which of her former classmates had switched courses or dropped out, what the biggest life updates were. Who else left the city?

“By the way, what has happened to your bowtie? You used to be so proud of it.”

“It got stolen by a bird,” he dramatically whined, “The one day I take it off outside and put it on the nearest table, it’s gone.”

Adi giggled. The thieving birds were still the school’s most famous trait. “So why not ask Finn for it, as always?”

“You haven’t heard?” Ethan replied startled. “Finn is missing. He’s been gone for almost half a year.”

Her heart jumped into her throat and she nearly launched off her chair. “Missing?! What? When? How?”

“Yeah, it was a huge deal. He just stopped coming to his classes. Then the police arrived and questioned all the teachers. Most of the football team too. I wasn’t really involved for the rest. You should definitely ask Marie-Anne, she knows everything because her cousin works for the newspaper.”

“O-okay. I will. Thanks, Ethan.”

“See ya around.” He did a little salute, leaving Adi with the info bomb he casually dropped. Adi had the strong feeling he wanted to get away from her as soon as possible.

 _Don’t think that,_ she berated herself, _you weren’t that close in the past, that’s true, but he is busy with all those first years. I don’t envy him._

If only he could tell her more about Finn. Some part of her hadn’t accepted the news yet. It felt unreal, that the guy she used to be good friends with was gone. She took out her phone from her pocket, opening the app she used to browse the profiles of Marie-Anne and Leela. Scrolling past a million selfies, status updates and   _I don’t get it. There was nothing on Facespace about this. And Marie-Anne usually posts about everything._

Adi considered the possibility they were pulling her leg, taking revenge by pretending not to remember her and then saying Finn was gone. However, Ethan was a terrible liar and Robert would definitely do something more creative – not to mention neither of them would be so cruel to joke about a missing classmate.

At least, that’s what she hoped. Maybe things have changed in two years. Never before had she felt so much regret over forgetting to communicate with her former friends. _It’s so easy to make a vow to stay in touch until you stop seeing them._

She sighed. There was the itch to look up every bit of information on her missing classmate, but she really couldn’t afford to distract herself. In a short while, she would have her interview with the school administrator and she didn’t want to fuck it up.

Her eye fell on the sparkly baby blue post that Marie-Anne had posted a few days ago. Absolutely impossible to miss the fact that she was hosting the party to close the intro week of the school. Every student was invited, and she had left a warm message so her friends knew she was back in town.

_Marie-Anne hasn’t replied to my message… Maybe she missed it?_

It was possible. The first week always was the busiest week for the college. She scrolled through more uninteresting news feeds when it hit her she missed Ethan’s question of her moving. Was that even her fault? Still, she could have paid him a bit more attention.

She rested her head on her arms.

_Okay. Just now sucked, but that was then. It happened, you got past it and it’s nothing you can’t fix._

She lifted herself up. Visiting the school admin was probably a good distraction for her mind right now. His name didn’t sound familiar in the e-mail. Hopefully he wasn’t too strict.

~~~

Mr. Çelik suffered from permanent grump face, his short wispy beard doing a poor job of hiding the downturned corners of his mouth. He spoke slowly, meticulously, giving everyone no room to ignore him.

“In here, you’ll work together with the drama group most of the time.” He opened the tall metal door and gestured Adi to go in. She found herself in a huge room, with the stage on her right, black curtains hiding anything behind it. The rest of the area was empty, save the stacked chairs and lonely tables in each corner. The massive doors across the stage would lead outside, Adi knew. She ran her hand across the polished stage floor, feeling the scuffed wood after years of use.

Mr. Çelik cleaned his glasses with his beige jacket. “I’ll have a badge made for you so you can run around freely. Would you like me to show you around backstage?”

“Thank you very much, but I still know this place well.”

“Ah, you did tell me you used to study here. Plan to do that again?”

“Most likely. I’m not sure what yet, but I’m hoping to enroll in February.”

“Not a lot of time. I hope you’ll find something worthwhile soon,” Mr. Çelik said, giving her a look that reminded Adi a lot of her mom preaching the same. She bit down the urge to sass. “I am quite happy that you chose to help out around various school clubs and activities. A lot of the students that were in charge graduated. We’ll be shorthanded for a little while, but you’ll get plenty of experience.”

Adi nodded. Helping out in the library, the drama club and the school’s garden. How difficult could it be? “I’ll do my best.” Experience or not, she was hyped to work with Leela on stage.

“I have no doubt of that. Don, our janitor, will help supervise you. He couldn’t make it today, but he promised me he will e-mail you with the roster and anything else you will need to know.”

“Thanks Mr. Çelik.”

From under his arm, he took out the cardboard folder he had been holding the whole time. “Before you go, can you go to the office and give this to Julia? She’s the only one there right now.”

“No problem,” Adi said as she took the folder. It felt light, possibly scripts. The urge to peek soared.

“Good luck with your search and make sure to enjoy this week before the chaos starts,” he smiled and left.

Adi bounced a bit on her feet. The interview ended up being a few questions and the formality she feared wasn’t present. It felt good.

 _Once I get this done, I can quickly go to the library to read up on Finn’s disappearance and still be on time to help mom unpack,_ Adi thought content.

She wasted no time heading past the curtains, faced with a dark stage. On the side, she saw two corridors illuminated by TL lights; one large one that headed to the dressing rooms, and a narrow corridor next to it. She took the narrow path, surrounded by cement walls until she found another door. Yellow light poured through the matt glass window. It opened easily.

“CLOSE THE DOOR!!”

Of all things Adi anticipated today, it wasn’t something small and _extremely fast_ flying right into her face, the painful collision causing her to fall to her side against the wall. Before she recovered, folder and its contents scattered on the ground, the small trashing and flapping creature sped into the corridor from whence she came. The metal door slammed wide open once more to reveal a plus-sized woman with bright red hair and freckles liberally sprinkled across her face and neck. She easily towered over Adi, taller than most students in school she had seen.

Her eyes came across larger than normal behind her round glasses. “Shite!” she yelled and sprinted right in the direction of the tiny terror. Adi remained stunned for a few seconds before she woke up. She scrambled to collect the fallen papers and stuffed them back in the folder before running after the person she assumed to be Julia.

Beyond the wide parted curtains, Julia stood still, posed to take action, her cardigan shaping her into a predator. Amazon, was a descriptor that came to mind. When Adi approached, she pointed towards the ceiling of the auditorium.

Now Adi could see what was going on. A small green bird holding a sparkly bracelet in its beak sat perched on the stool of one of the upside-down chairs, hopping about. All the small windows touching the ceiling edge were closed, including the doors, yet that seemed not to bother their feathered foe.

“Sorry for this,” Julia spoke up, “I was told that it was a risk to open the windows, but I didn’t think a bloody bird would fly in right away and snatch up what I was working on.” She put her hand on her hips. “I swear it’s taunting me.”

“They tend to do that a lot. Something about this school really turns them into trolls.” Adi took a few steps forward to take a good look at the bird. Its feathers were lime green, nearly neon, but there was a visible dark line around its neck. “This is one of those exotic parakeets, right? I’ve never seen one in school. Usually we get magpies and jackdaws.”

It wasn’t uncommon for the more ignorant residents of Falle to take exotic birds as pets, only to release them into the wild when they got bored or couldn’t handle them any longer. Most species didn’t survive the sea climate, especially outside the summer. Adi thought back fondly on the awareness campaign her class set up in the year before she left, even if the end result whittled down to a few posters hanging in city hall. She had gotten many appreciative comments that time. _Worth it._

“Yeah, they’re everywhere lately. Little buggers breed faster than cockroaches.” Julia shook the pile of chairs. The parakeet swayed along without a care.

Julia sighed. “I wouldn’t care so much if I hadn’t spent an hour fixing that bracelet.” She looked at Adi and reached out a hand. “You’re the new gofer, right? The name’s Julia. Second year Fashion and Design. Just signed up for drama. I think you and I had something else in mind than chasing a bird around when we came here.”

 _Fashion?_ She would never have guessed. Julia seemed like a very posh or sporty person. Possibly both. “Adi. Ex-student. You get used to it,” she said, shaking Julia’s hand, wincing slightly at the firm grip. “Back when I studied Biomedical Sciences, my class and I ran after birds regularly.”

“Brilliant. You must know the best tactic to save that bracelet.”

Adi shook her head. “Actually we usually end up throwing a whole bunch of small pillows at them in the hope it startles them enough to drop whatever they got.” Pillows, towels, whatever was soft enough not to hurt the bird in case they got hit. Which was an achievement, seeing how amazing they were at dodging anything. Adi figured she could throw her shoes at this green bird and it’d be fine.

“That actually explains the massive tower of tiny pillows in one of the dressing rooms. Alright, you stay here and keep an eye on the little twat, I’ll be right back.”

There wasn’t much to watch, Adi figured while Julia went to get the pillows. The parakeet would occasionally drop the golden bracelet, chirp loudly into the empty room and pick it up again. _Definitely taunting us…_ _Parakeets are quite smart, aren’t they?_

She whipped out her phone and typed in the description. Immediately she got a name: Indian Ringneck, or Rose-ringed Parakeet. The second link was a headline with a clear warning on how predatory they were.

She put the folder on the nearest table, which was now badly crumpled – she really, really hoped nobody would get annoyed of the poor shape of the papers, which definitely looked like scripts.

When Julia carried in a massive amount of tiny pillows, dropping one with every step, she figured the fashion student would understand.

“Totally random question, but did you know Finn? Finn de Meij?” Adi asked, helping to collect the stray pillows for their upcoming tossing game.

“Finn? Isn’t he that missing student?” Julia dropped all of the pillows on the floor and grabbed one, aiming it at the very mobile bird. “He was a big deal , I heard? I can’t say I know him well, I spent so much time studying that I barely socialized last year. I barely know anyone.”

A shot. Miss. It flew right past the chairs and into the wide doors. Good range, bad aim. The parakeet bounced with joy.

 _Possibly why she’s joined the drama club?_ Adi wondered. "That's okay. I'll introduce you to whoever I still know." She took up a pillow and chucked it, watching it fall down on the floor not even halfway to its target.

Julia laughed. "Thanks! And I have a feeling we'll be here a while."

Welp. Now was a good time to get back into the spirit of this school.

~~~

 

 

> _14:38_
> 
> Mom: where r u? u said ud be home by 1?
> 
> AP: sorry, stayed to help
> 
> AP: some bird stole one of the drama props
> 
> AP: getting prop was no prob but getting the bird out of the school took forever
> 
> AP: will tell u all about it later
> 
> Mom: that’s ok just wanted to know where u r
> 
> Mom: take ur time at school
> 
> Mom: the boxes for ur room I put there already
> 
> Mom: what do u want to eat tonight
> 
> AP: laksa
> 
> Mom: again? we had laksa on saturday
> 
> AP: u asked. I like laksa ;P
> 
> AP: I will be home soon, quick detour to library
> 
> Mom: c u soon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, Caj attempts to houdini his way out.


	3. 02. de Meij Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caj tries to escape, but he might just go from the frying pan into the fire.

There was a number lock on the kitchen door _inside_ the house. Caj willed the silver buttons to reveal to him the code, but there was not a scratch on them. No wear or tear to betray usage, shiny and new as if recently bought. Just like the bars on his windows, which greeted him each morning when he opened the curtains. And the thick bolts with locks on the front door. And big iron lock in the door that connected the dining room to the backyard.

He sighed and proceeded to dial in number combinations. _1-1-1-1. 1-1-1-2._ The process bordered on insanity, but he literally had all the time for it. The house was quiet, afternoon sun illuminating the dusty living room, unable to reach the kitchen area he stood in. A thief in the shadows, except he was breaking out instead of in.

Caj wasn’t even sure how long he had been trapped in his new ‘home’. Night and day blended together, for the house lights were on all the time in the hallways. For safety, his mom had claimed. He couldn’t remember when he last felt tired or hungry. He never felt hot or cold, whether dressed or naked. His parents would call him out of his room for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, otherwise he was left to his own devices. Dad would leave for work exactly after breakfast ended, and wouldn’t come back until dinnertime, from which on he would sit in his usual chair for the entire evening, reading his newspaper and drinking coffee. Mom either cooked, went out into the garden or left the house to shop, which she announced when she collected her shopping bags. If he dirtied a plate or kicked over a vase and left the room, it would be spotless when he came back.

Whenever he asked to go outside, they would refuse. Their eyes would glaze over to receive the same response that he wasn’t allowed to. His mother made the most objections, his father seemed keen to stay out of conflict while she was there.

The amount of excuses he tried to use were dwindling fast. If he asked to see a doctor because he didn’t feel well, his mom would point to the massive stockpile of various bottled and pill medicine behind the bathroom mirror. He faked horrible stomach cramps, as much as he hated lying, in the hopes it would sway her to see the doctor. He threw all his shoes under the bed and claimed they were torn, but his dad bought him new ones, expensive ones that fit him perfectly. Ripping up all his comics and breaking his games didn’t help either, he got back all the ones lost and even more for his entertainment. Caj was certain he could ask for jacuzzi, a mountain bike and a horse and get it too. The only things he wouldn’t get were keys to the door, a phone that could make calls and any form of internet.

His parents would give him everything he desired, except a way out. He was a spoilt kid within four walls. A golden cage with velvet cushions.

Many times he wondered if this was a dream.

He had lifted every doormat, every pillow and anything on the floor and higher up in the hopes to find a key. He had turned every painting in the hallway and every photo in the living room, but no secret code, no key taped to the back, nothing.

Often he’d look out the windows. The front side was a narrow cobblestone path facing a hedge. The inhospitable atmosphere was uninviting and Caj never saw anyone walk past their house. Their backyard on the other hand, was a luxurious garden filled with colorful flowers, roses in particular. Thick rosebushes, red, yellow, white, bordered the large round garden. Dense trees cut off his view of the rest of the neighborhood. The sun always shone in the bright blue sky, and only when he saw thin white clouds did he hear birds chirping. Sometimes his mom worked in the garden, hair in a bun, tending to the many plants.

Once, his mom spotted him. With glee, she got up and headed towards the wooden door, which squeaked on unoiled hinges as it opened and shut. The way she had meticulously stood in front of the door in a way that he couldn’t sprint out if he wanted to, made his hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. In her hand, she held three roses with short stems. His mom’s perfume overpowered any scent the roses may have had.

“Red, for love,” she said cheerfully, passing him, and took out three small vases from a nearby wooden cupboard next to the velvet chair and couch. “Yellow, for friendship.” She placed each rose into a green glass vase. “White, for rebirth.” When done, she placed all three on the kitchen table in front of him.

Caj wondered why she would mention this when he hadn’t asked. “They’re beautiful roses,” he remarked.

His mother beamed. “They are, aren’t they? It’s a lot of work, but it pays off!”

“I’d like to see them in the garden,” Caj tried.

“Oh, darling, you’re so silly.” She pinched his cheeks rather painfully and chuckled as she started her usual dinner routine of collecting her kitchenware.

Caj rubbed his face, staring at the roses. “Don’t they need water?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. They will die soon enough. If you want, I’ll pick new ones!”

Something about needlessly letting plants die didn’t sit well with Caj. After night fell and his parents had retired to their bedroom, he decided to water them. He filled up each vase under the tap, careful not to flood them. The next day when he laid his eyes on the roses, the red one had completely wilted, the yellow one was dying, but the white rose thrived in the yellow kitchen light. _It’s just dumb flowers_ , Caj told himself.

Whenever he wasn’t looking out of windows, he caught himself staring into mirrors and other reflective surfaces like pans and glass cups. Caj recognized himself, but it was an empty feeling. Not knowing who he used to be made him want to smash the offending item. On those moments, he would say his name out loud. He was desperate not to forget what little he knew.

One time, staring into the bathroom mirror, his binder itched and he instinctively reached inside his shirt to scratch, he smiled at his reflection. _They can never take this away from me_ , he thought. That part of his identity would never be gone, no matter how much they addled his memory.

The tiny black bar of the number lock reflected his eyes. For someone who never slept, he still looked the same as ever. It convinced him once more that nothing here was natural.

_1-2-2-9. Shit, there’s also a zero._

He jumped when he heard a door open behind him. Not that getting caught mattered, he had given up all pretense of not escaping. “I wouldn’t fuss with that door, darling, it only leads to pantry,” his mother’s sugary voice resounded in the dining room and kitchen.

 _If it’s only the pantry, then why is it locked?_ More than done, Caj turned to face his mom, crossing his arms. She held flowers in her hands again, white, blue and purple. He glared at her while she approached and placed herself in front of the three glass vases.

“A daisy, for innocence.” She placed it with the dead rose. “Iris, for faith.” The iris joined the wilting yellow rose.

“Let me go,” Caj bluntly interrupted.

“Anemone,” she uttered, and slowly put down the small flower on the table. Still smiling ever so calmly, and there was a tiny flicker of something else that wasn’t pure joy in his mother’s eyes, but Caj didn’t recognize it. _Confusion?_ “My baby boy is saying strange things again,” she sighed.

“Strange? You’ve got bars on the windows and locks on the door. Why am I not allowed to go outside?”

Her grayish-blue eyes analyzed him. “You cannot go outside.”

“Why?!”

“You can never go outside,” she repeated in robotic fashion.

Caj felt like he was losing it. “What kind of parents imprison their child?!”

That shocked some emotion into her. “What do you mean? Are you unhappy? Is there something you want?”

 _This is going in circles again._ “I don’t-“ he cut himself off, biting the inside of his cheek. “I’m going to my room.”

He turned on his heel and walked away to the familiar spiral stairs, leaving her to the flowers.

“Rest well, darling!”

~~~~

Lying spread-eagle on the bedsheets, Caj considered giving up, staring at the ceiling for the umpteenth time. Maybe he should lie in bed forever. He stretched his arms, bumping into the useless smartphone and the empty leather-bound book. Somehow, he hoped the phone would magically let him call at an unusual hour so he could get help. The book also served no purpose, but it was the only thing that let him remember the name Finn.

He grabbed the book, tracing the edges with his fingers. It was quite pristine, no tears or cracks he could detect, new and just as out of place as he was. The message inside telling him not to wish for anything, first ominous, now taunting.

“I don’t care,” Caj said out loud, pressing his forehead and nose against the paper pages in a random act of defiance, “I wish to get out of here. I wish to fucking go. Come and curse me, stupid book.”

He let go. The book responded by falling off his face and closing neatly on the bed, followed up with silence.

It was almost instinctual how Caj lifted himself up and walked out of the room, just to head down to a white hallway with a barred front door. The kitchen and living room were empty again, so dark from the night sky it didn’t seem to exist. Turning on the light, Caj noticed his mom never put the anemone in a vase, laying exactly where she placed it.

“Can’t sleep?” came his dad’s voice from behind. His balding father popped up into view, wearing matching striped pajama shirt and pants, shuffling in on his slippers.

Caj watched his father pour a glass of water for himself from the tap. “I’m trying to leave.”

“You can’t leave,” dad replied with the same monotony as his mother. In a fluid motion, he took out a thin serrated knife from the drawer and placed it upon the marble counter, before reaching towards the fridge. Caj didn’t see the need to press further.

The knife glinted underneath the kitchen light, drawing his attention. Its sharp blade tempted him to darker thoughts.

He knew both of his parents had keys to the doors in the house. He also knew that he’s never seen them, meaning the keys had to be on his parents or at least near them at all times. And if he successfully managed to press the right number into the number lock, and it did only lead to the pantry, he would still be nowhere. He had tried asking. He had tried reasoning. These people weren’t his parents, they were his wardens

With his hand so close to the hilt, he wondered how desperate he was.

“Hmm, out of cheese,” his dad muttered after closing he fridge. Caj lowered his hand as the older man turned back around, patted him on the back and left to the stairs. “Get some sleep. Growing boys need lots of it.”

_Did he really go downstairs for just water and cheese?_

More likely to keep an eye on him, Caj concluded. The knife remained on the counter. Caj picked it up and twirled it.

It would take a lot more than few stabs to take an adult down. The idea alone made his body tense, made his stomach churn.

But he took the knife with him after he had tired himself out with the number lock. _Just in case._

~~~~

_6-3-3-1._

The sound of rustling made him pause. That couldn’t possibly be dad. And mom had announced she went to get groceries, which meant she was gone for at least two to three hours. He should know, he had timed it.

The rustling got stronger. Caj moved away from the number lock to listen. It seemed to originate from above the stairs.

With every step on the stairs, the sound vanished and returned, growing stronger the further he travelled into the hallway. He passed his room and the bathroom he rarely used, until he stood in front of the door to his parents’ bedroom. Caj hesitated. The polite part of him didn’t want him to enter, to breach the privacy of his jailors. It was absurd in a way how he still felt some form of respect for people he hated. No, people he wanted to hate.

_They don’t seem to be aware of what they’re doing…_

He shook his head, and pushed down the door handle and entered, hearing that rustling clearer than before.

It was slightly startling how similar his room and his parents’ room were. They shared the same purple curtains, closed off completely in case anyone could fly and peep inside. A two-person bed sat on the far right, blankets tucked in each other and pillows with but a slight dent in the middle. Across the bed, near the door, were two tall closets. Next to them stood a tiny table with two chairs, which made Caj wonder what they were for. The lacquered wood was an exact replica of his own room’s furniture, and had he not been in such a strange situation, he would have assumed his parents bought everything in one big clearance sale.

The cause of the rustling came from behind the curtains, a small, dark shadow moving at an incredibly fast rate, darting in all directions, stuck between cloth and glass. Caj pulled the curtains open.

A small bird, colorful as an oil slick with brown accents, fluttered down onto the windowsill to stare at him, human and bird equally confused. The face-off ended when the bird took off and landed on the nearby chair, clearly scouting its surroundings.

_A bird? Wait a minute, how did it get into the house?_

Caj slowly walked to it, not sure how to approach it without spooking the tiny thing, but that didn’t seem to matter. The bird took off and flew past his head towards the ceiling, deftly avoiding the curtains. A few seconds later, it vanished, as if it never existed.

Intent on finding out how, Caj pulled the chair from the table and placed it in front of him, getting on it so he could reach the ceiling. The wooden chair wobbled, not holding his weight properly. He swallowed his fear of falling and inspected the ceiling.

He would never have spotted it from a distance, but this close he saw a clear rectangular outline in the painted wood. It definitely came across as some kind of hatch, large enough that a person could go through it. Pushing on the hatch made some white paint flake off and drop to the ground, but it didn’t budge. Caj pushed again. This time, the hatch gave a tiny bit of way, dried paint raining around him, until it stopped.

Freedom was the tiniest sliver of light between the hatch door and him. Caj could feel cold air on his face. His heart sped up; it was something he’s missed all this time.

But no matter how hard he tried, the hatch wouldn’t budge further. Something was definitely locking it in place on the other side. From what Caj could see, there was something holding it down in place on one end.

He dropped the hatch and remembered the bird had passed by here. There was no way it would have pushed up this hatch and fit into the narrowest of gaps. Taking a small step across the wooden chair, which tested his balance and caused him to hold on to the ceiling, he inspected the wood. Even with all the paint flakes, the ceiling retained its plain white look, and Caj wondered how often it has been painted over.

Right above the curtains, in the gap between ceiling and cloth, Caj saw it. A small tear between the wooden planks. It was hidden well thanks to the way sunlight fell into the room. He pushed himself into the curtain to see it properly. The tear was definitely big enough for a small bird to pass through. It was also close to the lock of the hatch door.

He touched the inside of the gap to be certain. It seemed to be pretty thin layer of wood, connected with some unfamiliar soft foam in between. If he could widen the gap for his hand, he could reach in and hopefully unlock the hatch that way.

 _It’s less of a long shot than the number lock_ , he thought. He scratched away some of the foam with his nails. Bits of it came off, but at a rate that would have him be stuck here for several more weeks. Not to mention he couldn’t scratch off the wood without cutting himself.

He still had the knife.

A quick trip to his room and back had him wobbling on the chair once more. The serrated cheese knife went through wood and foam easier, though he still had to put in quite the effort to saw through the thin wood. What he would have given right now for a proper saw, or even a drill.

Half an hour later, the hole was slightly wider but nowhere big enough for him to fit his hand in. Caj knew he would have to do it so the hole wouldn’t be easily spotted when his parents entered the room, or this entire endeavor was pointless. But it was a start, and it gave Caj a renewed sense of hope.

Downstairs, he heard the front door open. He jumped down and put everything back in its place. Better to be safe and do this when both parents were out of the house.

~~~~

The waiting was the hardest part. Caj found himself reading a lot more in the hours that his mom was home. Most books were general information books about the country and city he lived in and never got to see. The comments about how important the bird population was for Falle and how they were tightly interwoven with the city’s history made him consider that the bird that showed him a way out was no coincidence.

There was nothing normal in the situation he was in. He didn’t need his memories back to know that. Maybe it was a test. A sick, bizarre test that proved… whatever it was they wanted from him.

He was lying on his bed, a pile of books next to the leather-bound journal he kept next to his pillow, partially reading, partially waiting for his mother to announce she was going to leave. And as if she read his mind, she entered his room without knocking, holding a big plastic shopping bag in her hand.

“It’s so good to see my boy studying instead of wasting time with the pantry! Is there anything you’d like me to buy from the supermarket?” She chirped. To his ears, it was condescending, insulting. _Finally you’ve given up, Caj! You’re such a good kid, Caj!_

The knife shifted against his leg, hidden in the sheets of his bed. There was still the ‘easy’ way out.

Oh, how he wanted to hate her. He really did. But the honest part of him knew he was never going to. Not because he liked her through charitable gestures in the form of gifts or any odd affection she showed, but because he didn’t want to hurt anyone. He couldn’t make himself do it.

_Would everyone think me a fool?_

“I’m good,” he shot her a quick smile.

She waved him goodbye and he waited a good five minutes before he jumped to action.

~~~~

Caj wiped away more sawdust from his face before continuing his work. The gap was pretty wide already, and he had to keep cutting chunks off towards the window end to hide it. He hoped with all he had that the lock of the hatch wasn’t difficult to use.

The sweat on his back made his shirt and binder sticky and skin so itchy he was in hell. It was bad enough that he had to work on something above him, gravity pulling down with all its might, but having to stop to scratch every few seconds pissed him off.

Aside from that, having to scramble to clean up all the dust, paint flakes and other rubbish in the room whenever he heard the front door open didn’t lighten his mood either. _It will be worth it_ , he told himself. It has to be.

Absently, he put his hand in as he did every day to test the width. The first time he managed to get his hand in with some effort, he was ecstatic – until he realized his arm had to fit in too.

This time, his arm fit in as well. His heartbeat accelerated.

Balancing on his toes on the chair, praying its wooden legs wouldn’t fail him now, Caj patted around. The cold floor felt very grimy and granulated, which proved to him further that no one had used the hatch for ages. How long had his parents known about the hidden space? Did they seal it off just for him, or were there other victims he didn’t know of?

Any urge he had to ask them vanished when he came in contact with something smooth and metal. A long cylinder, which had to be attached to the hatch. There was a handle on it. His arm was starting to hurt, elbow chafing against the edge of the wood which was tearing up his sleeve. The cylinder wouldn’t budge.

He pulled with all he had.

Suddenly it gave way, and he felt it slide away from him until it refused to move any further. At once, he extracted his arm from the hole, wincing at the bloody scratches on the inside of his elbow, friction successfully having ruined his shirt and skin. Luckily, the joy of success stopped him from feeling any pain. He pushed the latch up and this time it opened with ease, the door falling to the right on its hinges, landing with a dull thump.

Daylight and cold air poured in through the wide gap. A tiny voice in the back of his mind told him to get the leather book in his room and take it along.

Downstairs, he heard the front door open.

He tried to hoist himself up with little success, one leg hopelessly flailing. Realizing that wasn’t going to work, he jumped down the chair, locked his parents’ bedroom door and ran back to drag the table underneath the hatch. After tossing the knife on the floor, he placed a chair on top of it and began to climb it, the whole construction less stable than ever. A sure way to break his neck, but he had gotten this far, no way he was going to stop.

He was going to leave the house _right now_. The chair wobbled terribly, Caj barely managing to get his upper half into the hatch. Around him was a tiny attic, lit only by sunlight from the nearby lonely window, dust and dirt caking the floors and walls. The mold smell was overpowering. Anywhere he put down his hands, deep imprints appeared.

“Caj?” he heard his mom call.

This was no time for investigation. With all he had, he pulled himself into the attic, using hands and feet to stop himself from falling back down, climbing with all the grace of a wet fish until he managed to hoist himself into the small space. The moment he did, the chair fell of the table in a loud crash.

“Caj?!” his mom called, more urgent. He heard her stomp up the stairs.

He rolled himself upright, closed the hatch door and grabbed the dark iron handle, sliding it back into the rings to shut the hatch once more. His mom would notice the crap on the floor and know where he was, but hopefully this would delay her. He bet she had another way into the attic, simply because she was the warden of this prison. Or she had some magical way to unlock the hatch door.

His clothes were filthy, and his sweaty skin attracted all the dust in the air. Caj coughed and stood up, promptly hitting his head on low ceiling. “Ow, damnit,” he cursed, voice low out of habit.

But there was a window. Square, frame rotting with half of its paint off, and there was a latch on the side. Outside, Caj saw the sky. Gray and cloudy. Caj thought it was the most beautiful thing.

“Caj!!” shouted an extremely panicked voice.

Shit, she was very close. He pushed down the handle. The same tiny voice told him that there was no way it would open, not when he was this close. The house itself was meant to trap him here forever.

Yet it did. The window swung wide open. Caj took a shuddered breath, stepping out, his first step out into the open world.

He was on the roof. It was quiet, save the wind blowing through the trees and terribly cold. Caj felt like an intruder, stepping on the roof’s shingles. They were slippery from rain, and when Caj put down his second foot, he slipped downwards, making him quickly grab the broken windowsill. Very, very slowly, he shuffled himself downwards, water soaking his pants and freezing him further. Another shuffle, he slipped, he slid down a bit before his feet hit the gutter, stopping his descent. Panting, he checked the asphalt below him.

Freedom was a jump downwards. It wasn’t a short jump. Their house was two stories tall, which he really should have remembered before he decided to escape via the high route. There was a good chance he’d break his bones in the fall. Caj considered the chance of him dying was just as high.

There was the loud sound of a thump. A feminine voice calling out his name too close.

He didn’t know any deity to pray to.

Using his hands, he angled himself away from the ceiling, standing upright on the gutter for the tiniest of seconds, before gravity pulled him down. As he fell, the darkness swallowed his consciousness and he no longer saw the ground.

~~~~

_“He’s dead.”_

His eyes flutter open with great difficulty. Blurry, dark shapes shift above him. The scent of rain and metal hangs heavy in the air. Everything hurts, it hurts so much it almost made him numb. His own breathing comes out staggered from his broken and bruised body, every muscle and nerve begging for some form of relief.

Warmth wraps around him and his body lifts easily of the hard ground, into the sky. He feels light, small. Something huge looms over him, but nothing he tries lets him see properly. He opens his mouth to speak. When no sound leaves him, other voices speak in his stead, so incredibly loud, a thunderclap in his ears with every word.

 _“This wasn’t supposed to happen!”_ A deep voice, sobbing, almost incomprehensible, close enough that it resonates through his entire body. _“Why did he not defend himself?!”_

 _“You know he could not,”_ a much calmer voice replies, though he isn’t sure where they stand. Something in their tone soothes him, even though the pain.

He closes his eyes again and heard something, someone, yelling in the far distance. Anguished, no, angry, very angry screams and obscenities, impossible to distinguish what is being said.

_“That is the boy?”_

_“Finn,”_ the sad voice growls and whatever held him tightens around his body. _“I will take care of him, I will- “_

_“You will do nothing.”_

_Don’t!_ he wants to yell. Amidst the pain of his body, there’s a pain in chest. He doesn’t want them to feel like this, to talk like this.

The other figure moves and a bright light shines into his face, forcing him to open his eyes again. The bright light is from a lantern, illuminated against the night sky, obscuring the stars. Whoever is holding him is a giant, with long hair curtaining most of their face, but the way their body shook irregularly saddens him.

 _“You’re right. I would make it worse. This is all my fault,”_ the long-haired one says, _“I’ll make sure this never happens again. On his death, I swear it.”_

_“The balance always restores itself.”_

The other voice makes him turn his head, trying to ignore the agonizing pain. A blurry white person walks past large planks sticking out from the ground, the metal netting around it destroyed. The ground, littered feathers and… blood.

A cage in pieces. Too much blood, too many dead. The long-haired one is wrong. It’s his fault. _You didn’t cause this. You couldn’t have known. Don’t, don’t-_

The warm hands let him go and he lands on the ground with a soft thud, his senses dulling further. The pain gone, his vision going dark once more.

_“For you perhaps. There’s no fixing what I’ve done.”_

~~~~

He stood in front of a massive organ, silver pipes as wide as his head, each with an intimidating face demanding attention, collected above the wooden framework of the instrument. There was no other word than truly enormous, the instrument covering a wall that was larger than twice the living room of his ‘parents’. The framework resembled the shape of a dead tree, wood twisting in circles and spread between the metal pipes. The white keys close to the floor, that he assumed were to play the instrument despite each key being wider than one hand, allowed at least three people to use it simultaneously.

Caj blinked, all but aware he had been staring at it in trance. He raised his arms defensively, a strange form of instinct kicking in.

This wasn’t the house he was trapped in.

Snapping out of it, he spun around. The room was a giant open space, blue flames of tall candles on the ground giving the tiles a cold glow. Light gray marble pillars bordered archways that held up walls with tall glass windows, showing the night sky, glittering stars and a full moon. The pillars seemed to go on forever, Caj could not see the ceiling, merely gray clouds. Wind howled above him, blowing through his hair and his clothes. The candle flames were unaffected.

_I was just on a roof. How did I end up here?!_

He checked his body. The tears in his sleeve and the cuts in his elbow were still there. He was still covered in grime and dust from the attic. The seat of his pants uncomfortably cold and wet, his jacket had lost the zipper.

He looked around. There was no one. He wasn’t lying on the ground. The pain and dullness he remembered was completely gone.

“Hello?!” he yelled into the open space. It echoed once, only for it to return to endless silence.

Caj glanced back at the menacing organ, before walking away from it. Every step he made with his sneakers sounded like tapping of heels. After every few steps, more candles lit up, illuminating what was ahead. It wasn’t long until the seemingly endless large room showed him two large doors, carved from the same dark-gray wood as the organ. Carved into the door were many circular symbols he didn’t understand.

He placed his hand on one of the doors. The sudden thought hit him, telling him that the wood, the stone in this place – all were connected, one could not exist without the other. Caj tilted his head upwards, wondering why the cold atmosphere and the brewing storm didn’t strike him as terrifying. If anything, he felt more at peace here than in the cozy house.

He pushed the wooden door with all his might. It inched open, bit by bit, scraping along the marble and adding to the white skid marks. He definitely wasn’t the first one here… hopefully not the last one left.

Beyond the door, he found a similar room. No organ, nor any blue candles - instead, he saw two giant black pots in the center. One of them emitted a warm, attractive golden glow. Behind that pot, he saw a pale man fill a glass bowl, taking out a tiny amount of the illustrious golden liquid.

Caj stared at him as he got closer. The man had long leather gloves that cut off at his hand and just before his shoulder. He wore an asymmetrical coat, short to the waist on the right side and past his hip on the other, colors dark amidst his light skin and the golden glow of the pot. His clothing was odd, but what was most striking to Caj was how he had long platinum blond hair, one side shaved, the other reaching all the way down his side. A handsome, wild look, but the dead expression in his eyes offset everything.

_I’ve seen him before._

“The long-haired one?” Caj asked.

The taller man stopped what he was doing to look at him. “What did you call me?” he asked, though it did not sound like he was asking a question. His eyes betrayed no emotion, and Caj found it hard not to feel nervous.

 _Shit, I said that out loud._ “Never mind,” Caj said rapidly, left hand tugging the edge of his sleeve, “Could you tell me where I am?”

“In the Cathedral,” the man replied deadpan.

“O-kay... What kind of cathedral? How did I get here?”

“Who exactly are you?”

Caj huffed “Believe it or not, that’s what I’m trying to find out as well.”

After a slow blink, the long-haired one continued with his process, lifting the bowl with both hands. “I don’t have time for riddles. If you need something to do, seek out the Crone. They will help you.”

“The Crone? Who’s that?” Caj asked, only to watch the man walk off, completely ignoring him. “Hey, wait! I’m not trying to mess with you, I really don’t know who I- Oh, come on, it’s not like I wanted to be here!” he yelled when the man turned the corner, yellow glow betraying his location and lessening in intensity.

There was something about him. Caj knew he had to follow. Curiosity however let him linger and he checked into the pots. The one on the left was completely black, some sort of scentless oil resting in it. The other contained liquid gold, glowing so bright it hurt his eyes, swirling patterns from where the glass bowl had touched the surface area. Both pots had warm, but not hot, steam coming off it that tickled his face. Caj was enticed to dip his hand into the golden liquid, but thought otherwise.

He ran after the long-haired one, following him into a thin hallway with candles set in tiny openings built into the walls. A few tiny golden specks on the ground gave him a clear trail to follow. After a long stretch, there was an open door, revealing plants, the night sky – it must lead outside.

He hadn’t expected a courtyard. Caj halted his sprint, taking in his surroundings. Moonlight shone on the circular tiles, reflection making them whiter than light. The stars sparkled so much brighter, the walls of the building still disappearing into the abyss. In one corner, he saw a circular open well. White rose bushes decorated the sides, forming a low wall between the cathedral and the yard. The soft scent of freshly cut grass and rose was harshly disrupted by something metallic.

In the center, Caj saw a figure, but it wasn’t the long-haired man. This one wore a dark-brown hood and a cape, which took up the shape of many long feathers. Whoever they were, they hadn’t heard him, more interested in what was lying in front of them on the tiles. Another person it seemed, Caj first assumed asleep, but they were so still it was unnatural. A few more slow steps further in and Caj noticed torn clothing, veined, pale-blue skin and eyes that stared at nothing. In its side, a gaping wound where blood slowly seeped into the cracks of the tiles, running its course like a river. Caj felt his breath get ripped out of his lungs and let out an unwanted gasp.

The figure turned, a woman Caj guessed from her shape, fully hooded and masked, hiding her face, only glowing orange eyes standing out. Beyond the belted coat, Caj saw metal claws attached to her leather gloves, glistening in the light, its tips covered in deep red. In one hand, she held a white handkerchief that was getting soaked red from cleaning. She peered at him, but he could not hold his gaze for a second, eyes settling for the ground. Her glare was so intimidating, he feared she would kill him simply for being there.

“Who are you?” She demanded, voice clear through her clothing. “I have never seen you before.”

 “I-“ Caj stumbled, trying not to focus on the reddened tiles.

“Speak up. You’re intruding on private matters.”

“If you spent less time playing the Crone’s little assassin and more time listening, you’d know already,” came a light, sing-song voice behind him.

From the few Caj had met so far, their coloring had been very muted, more liable to blend in the background. This newcomer however was impossible not to notice, extravagant and colorful. Her bright green dress and teal pants stood out against her brown skin. She was a flurry of accessories, earrings and bracelets, tiny feathers attached to her bangs and wearing a noticeable pink choker. Her long dark hair, bound in a loose ponytail trailed behind her as if floating. When she passed him, he noted her face was the most human he had seen from the three. There was warm smile on a soft face, though it wasn’t specifically for him.

“There is never a reason to eavesdrop on conversations, instigator,” the hooded one reprimanded while his defendant stood between them.

“I disagree. You learn a lot from things others don’t want you to hear.” She reached out and tried to poke his nose. Caj leaned back to dodge it. “What tickles me however, is that it is unheard of for a human to find his way into Taeir. Not unless one of us helped him in.”

He didn’t know what to think. Here they were having a conversation, as if a fresh corpse wasn’t lying but a meter away from them.

“So the question that’s more important is: who let you in?” She cocked her head one side, eagerly awaiting a response.

“You-“ Caj stuttered, overwhelmed. For so long he had only known his false parents, meeting so many new, strange people was making his head spin. “You know who I am?”

“No, no, that’s not how it works! You answer my question and then I will answer yours! You’ll say: oh, so-and-so let me in, and I will say: ooh, really!”

The hooded one groaned. “Ignore her. She’s merely trying to confuse you. I will take you to the Crone and we will settle this.” She tossed away the stained handkerchief and started marching to him.

“Storms around, impatient as always,” the woman in green giggled but made no move to stop her.

The hooded one narrowed her eyes. “Have you forgotten the last time a human discovered us? This time, we will eliminate a threat before it does any damage.”

 _Eliminate?!_ “I just appeared here,” Caj exclaimed, slowly freaking out, “I don’t know where I am or what’s going on. I’m trying to figure shit out!”

 _Will they kill me?_ Caj thought. If so, he would die as he had lived – having not a single clue about anything.

A bell chimed. Soft, and Caj wondered if he had imagined it. The sound calmed him down, all leaden fears seeping out of his tense shoulders. His companions became quiet, the hooded one stopped glaring and stood still.

The woman in green dropped her smile, pouting. “No one ever thinks I want to help. But! I know I’ll see you soon.” With a very subtle wink she left, bouncing, almost floating with every step into another doorway.

Just when Caj was worried he was alone with the deadly person, a door opened to his right. Another sensation washed over him, cooling his skin and silencing his thoughts. A white robe appeared in his vision first, followed by a person entering the courtyard. Their lean figure showed hardly any curves, posture straighter than the pillars of the building. Their partially gloved hands, clasped together in silent prayer, were as wrinkled as the crow’s eyes on their face. Said face was partially hidden by a mask of netted material, which was interlaced with their gown, contrasting with olive skin.

 _Wait… mom… AND dad?!_ Caj thought. Though there were no visual similarities, they reminded him too much of his parent-jailors, bundled into one person. The accusation he wanted to yell remained lodged in his throat while they stood in front of him.

Eyes, more black than red, peered down at him for a good whole minute. Lacking the white of the eyes should unnerve him, but there was something, a force, an aura, Caj wasn’t sure what to name it, that prevented him from worrying about it. Soon, they turned to the hooded one.

“Good work,” they said, and the words seemed to vibrate, causing thoughts that were not his own to sneak into Caj’s mind.

_I am the one they call the Crone. You do not need to fear us. Your arrival was sooner than expected._

The hooded one’s expression did not change. “There is no good in any of this.” Her voice was cold.

“It has to be done,” the Crone spoke.

_It is unfortunate you met some of us in this troubling moment. Undoubtedly you have many questions._

The hooded one turned back to her kill. Caj wondered if the Crone was speaking to her at the same time. If they were reading his thoughts. So far, it seemed a one-way street.

He wanted to test it by thinking something ridiculous, only to find his body being gripped by intense exhaustion. Dizzy, his legs gave way and he dropped to the ground, impact hurting his kneecaps. He held onto his stomach. It hurt, his eyes watered and blurred, his lungs were desperate for more air.

_What is happening?!_

“The human is under my care,” the Crone said to an audience he wasn’t aware of, their shape only white, blending with the ground and the walls.

_You have not slept and eaten for a very long time. We will let you rest, heal your wounds and let you find your bearings. You chose truth over comfort, thus you shall have it… in time. But definitely not here. And not now._

“Wait, I need- I need to know,” Caj begged, his exhausted mind playing a tug-of-war on what question was most important, “The house, my so-called parents… Was it… all a dream?”

The white dress became a cloud, a cloud that held him and prevented him from dropping completely flat on the cold tiles. Soft, Caj barely heard their answer while he drifted into peaceful sleep.

“No.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, Adi goes to a party but finds herself still forgotten.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is unbeta-ed and thus up for change in the future! I would love to hear any criticism you have!


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